What do you do when you are faced with inevitable or insurmountable obstacles? Veterans are go-to, get-‘er-done kind of folks. I was having a conversation recently about the amount of time that it takes to get things done in the civilian world, and how we see it differently in the Read more…
This was originally posted on the Military Spouse Advocacy Network blog, and I’m honored to be working with them! You can read the original post, and find more great information for those who support service members and veterans most, by going here. Just as the body goes into shock after a physical trauma, so does the Read more…
When I talk about being “radical,” I don’t mean holding on to an extreme ideological viewpoint, nor do I mean being totally awesome from an Eighties standpoint. The concept of something “radical” that I’m talking about here is based on another definition of the word: relating to or affecting the fundamental Read more…
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends – John 15:13, King James Version Sacrifice. The ultimate, final sacrifice of one’s life for others. This is the true secret that lies at the heart of military service: it is one of Read more…
Memorial Day 2017 is rapidly approaching, and our social media feeds are once again going to be inundated with reminders of what the day is supposed to be about, as opposed to what it seems to be about. Friends and neighbors everywhere are going to be getting ready for summer, Read more…
When it comes to the veteran support community, there are fewer subjects, in my opinion, that are more sensitive than Veteran Suicide. There are also fewer subjects that are more individualized, and more complicated. Let me throw this firebomb of a question out there: Are there some circumstances that make Read more…
If there’s one thing that veterans are familiar with, it’s loss. Sacrifice, by its definition, is to accept loss, and sacrifice is what veterans do. We leave our families behind when we join the military. We leave the familiarity of our environment. When we are in the military, more change, Read more…
The boys of Metallica have done it again. They may or may not be to your taste, but for me, the song One from …And Justice For All always summed up what I knew to be the horrors of war. I think back to my own personal soundtracks through all Read more…
There’s something about anniversaries that make them extremely important to veterans. Birthdays and wedding anniversaries are important to many people, of course, and are remembered with cards and gifts, but veterans celebrate different anniversaries than others. We remember milestones in our career: promotions, or deployments. We celebrate some, knowing that they Read more…
Our country can’t have a discussion about veteran mental health without talking about the extreme outcome of failure to address it: veteran suicide. On August 3rd, 2016, the Department of Veterans Affairs released a 45-page summary of a study by the Office of Suicide Prevention, titled Suicide Among Veterans and Read more…